Searching for Financial Advice Online

Even as many financial advisers try to shift upward from the mass-affluent segment to a wealthier clientele, some new Internet-based startups are aiming their services at the not-so-rich.

While online investment platforms aren’t new, such fledgling services asWealthfront and Betterment are trying to distinguish themselves with new programs to provide advice electronically. The investment minimums are as low as $5,000 – or even nothing at all.

Generally speaking, they seek clients who are satisfied with an online, largely automated process and who don’t need for face-to-face contact with an adviser. As the public gets more comfortable carrying out all kinds of activities online and as traditional advisers pursue the wealthy, this new market should grow. Jonathan Stein, founder and CEO of Betterment, sees online advisory platforms as the answer for the “99% of everyone in this country” with less than $500,000 to invest.